The SlideWinder Story | Jimi Hendrix is still inspiring & new sounds and techniques

Guitar innovation – new technology introduction

We are available for media articles and interviews at NAMM (booth 1253) for the new product introductions described in the following:

Who would believe Jimi Hendrix is still driving leading-edge guitar sound innovation today? If I didn’t personally know this was true, I might not believe it myself.

Alex Calder, the inventor of SlideWinder technology and CEO of SlideWinder LLC, credits Jimi Hendrix as the original source for the inspiration behind his recent technical breakthrough: The SlideWinder ring (scheduled for launch at 2018 Winter NAMM, January 25-28, booth 1253).

“The first time I heard Jimi’s solo in ‘All Along The Watchtower,’ it completely blew my head apart. I had no idea how anyone could make a guitar sound like that” (Alex is referring to the unexpected slide guitar section emerging at 3:00, in the studio rendition of Jimi’s version of Bob Dylan’s iconic song).

“Early on, when I was learning guitar, I tried to visualize how players were creating various sounds on the fretboard. Usually, I could more-or-less figure out techniques they were using. Or…at least get close.

“With Jimi’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ … it left me completely dumbfounded. I had no idea how it could be possible that an electric guitar, no matter who played it, could create that slide-guitar section, right in the middle of a finger-play section, with no breaks in between. It completely confounded me.

I asked every guitar teacher and skilled player I knew. It seemed each had his own answer, and after testing them all myself … I realized none could possibly be correct. None of their ideas worked or were even possible.

Apparently, I stumbled upon one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the known guitar universe.

I became determined to solve this guitar riddle. After buying, creating, and testing every possible combination of available solution, including many of my own inventions, I discovered the answer: the SlideWinder ring. With it, I could play ‘All Along The Watchtower’ all the way through, including the mystery slide-section, using all my fingers ̶ without using a slide, at all.

The secret was layers of innovation, including an angled steel slide bar, worn as a ring, with powerful rare-earth magnets gripping the strings … and the SlideWinder ring was born.

“The SlideWinder ring (patent-pending) is a breakthrough guitar player’s tool using rare-earth magnets to interact musically with electric guitar strings, creating a magnetic “floating fret.” It allows players to use all their fingers, while simultaneously duplicating slide-guitar ̶ just as Jimi Hendrix recorded in his most-famous guitar solo in ‘All Along The Watchtower.’”

SlideWinder, LLC is launching the following new products at Winter NAMM 2018, held Jan. 25-28, 2018: